Method of making a container body blank



y 3, 1967 E. R. SIEGLE 3,320,917

METHOD OF MAKING A CONTAINER BODY BLANK Filed June 19, 1964 f 1 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 23, 1967 E. R. SIEGLE 3,320,917

METHOD OF MAKING A CONTAINER BODY BLANK Filed June 19, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Ofifice 3,320,917 METHOD OF MAKHNG A CONTAINER BODY BLANK Edward Reinhold Siegle, Newark, N.J., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 19, 1964, Ser. No. 376,405 2 Claims. (Cl. 113--12ll) The present invention relates generally to a container of the type having an opening feature in the form of a slit extending through a portion thereof and a score line extending from an end of the slit, and more particularly to an improved method of making a blank for such a container which insures that the end of the slit will be in operative registration with the score line.

The present trend in the packaging industry is toward the development of containers which can be opened easily without requiring the use of tools such as can opening keys or can openers. An example of such a container is one which can be opened merely by peeling a sealing tape from the surface of the container body to thereby uncover a circumferential slit which is formed in the body and which divides the body into two portions which may thereafter be completely separated along a score line extending between the ends of the slit to expose the contents of the container. One problem that arises in the manufacture of this type of easy openable container is the registration of the slit and the score line formed between the ends of the slit. If the slit and the score line should be formed out of mutual alignment in the container body, then it would be extremely diflicult for the consumer, after removing the sealing tape from the container body, to completely separate the two portions of the body along the score line, since it would require tearing through an uncut and unscored portion of the container body.

The general purpose of the instant invention is to provide a method of making a blank for such a container body which insures that the ends of the slit will lead into the score line even if the slit and score line are not formed in exact mutual alignment. This is accomplished by for1ning a pair of spaced and aligned apertures or holes in the container body blank which are located approximately at the intended junctions between the ends of the slit and the score line, and are of a diameter greater than the height of the slit and the score line. The slit and the score line are thus formed in the body blank in registration with the apertures therein. If the slit and score line are not formed in exact mutual alignment in the blank, there is no danger that they will be out of operative registration in the formed container body to thereby make it difficult to open, since both terminate in the apertures disposed at their junction points. The container body, therefore, can be easily opened along the slit and the score line because the end portions of the slit and the score line are connected by the apertures formed in the body blank which insure that the ends of the slit will lead into the score line.

' It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of making a blank for a container body of the type having a slit formed therein and a score line extending from an end of the slit.

A further object is the provision of such a method .whereby the slit will lead into or be in registration with the score line in the container body even if they are not formed in exact mutual alignment in the body blank.

Still another object is to provide such a method wherein the container body blank is provided with an aperture at the intended junction of the end of the slit and the score line which insures that the slit will lead into the score even if the slit and score line are not formed in exact mutual alignment in the body blank.

353N317 Patented May 23, F367 Yet another object is to provide such. a method wherein formation of a slit which terminates within the edge of the blank is facilitated.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an easily openable container constructed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a blank for the container body shown in FIG. 1, showing the blank after a pair of aligned apertures have been formed therein in accordance with a step of the instant method;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the apparatus utilized to form the apertures. in the body blank of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the body blank after a pair of score lines have been formed therein in registration with the apertures, in accordance with another step of the instant method;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, partly in section, showing a portion of the apparatus utilized to form the score lines in the body blank of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the body blank after a slit has been formed therein between the apertures and the score lines, in accordance with still another step of the instant method; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a portion of the apparatus utilized to form the slit in the body blank of FIG. 7.

As a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, FIG. 1 illustrates a container 10 which preferably is formed from thin sheet material such as tin plate. The container 10 comprises a tubular body 12 which has its side edge portions secured together in a side seam 14 of any desired type, such as a conventional lock and lap seam which is sealed with solder or a resinous sealing compound, or a soldered full lap seam. The opposite ends of the container body 12 are sealed by top and bottom end members 16 and 18, respectively, which are secured to the marginal end portions of the body in any suitable type of end scams 2% such as conventional double seams or crimped single seams.

To provide for easy opening of the container 10, the body 12 is formed with a circumferential slit 22 which is disposed adjacent the upper marginal end portion thereof and extends from a point adjacent one side of the side seam 14 completely around the body 12 to a point adjacent the opposite side of the side seam. The slit 22 terminates adjacent but in inwardly spaced relationship to each side of the side seam 14 in an aperture 24 formed in the container body 12 and having a diameter which is substantially greater than the height of the slit 22. A score line 26 i formed preferably on the interior surface of the container body 12 and extends between the apertures 24 and across the side seam 14.

The slit 22 and apertures 24 in the container body 12 are sealed by a sealing tape 28 which is secured to the outside surface of the body 12 and in an adhesive bond of any suitable type. One end portion 30 of the tape 23 is folded over on itself to provide a tab portion which may be easily gripped for the removal of the tape from the container body 12. The tape 28 preferably comprises a thin outer layer of a suitable strong material, such as aluminum foil, a fabric woven of glass fibers, a film of thermoplastic resin, etc. which is adhesively secured to the'body 12 by an inner layer (not shown) of a suitable adhesive which provides a hermetic, liquid-proof bond which completely surrounds the slit 22. The adhesive layer (not shown) preferably is one which is sufficiently low in peel resistance to enable it to be stripped cleanly from the body 12 when the end portion 36 of the tape 28 is grasped and pulled radially outwardly to remove the tape from the body and uncover the slit 22 therein.

FIGS. 2 through 7 show schematically a sequence of method steps used to form the blank from which the container body 12 is made by the method of the instant invention. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, a rectangular flat body blank 40 having its side edge portions slit at 42 and notched at 44 in a conventional manner to form the side seam 14 is passed through a suitable punching or cutting device or station 45 while in the flat to form the pair of apertures 24 adjacent the side edge portions thereof. The blank 40 is advanced along a recessed runway 46 which is disposed below a vertically movable punching tool 50 having a pair of depending cutting members 52. The runway 46 is provided with a pair of openings 54 which are in alignment with the cutting members 52 and are adapted to freely receive them therewithin. When the blank 40 reaches a predetermined position in the runway 46, the cutting tool 50 is moved downwardly a sufiicient distance for the cutting members 52 to enter the openings 54 and thus to cut through the body blank 40 to form the apertures 24 therein (see FIG. 3). The cutting tool 50 then is moved upwardly to lift the cutting members 52 from the blank 40, and the blank is advanced in any suitable manner out of the cutting station 45.

It is noted that any suitable type of cutting or punching tool or means, other than the punching tool Sill shown in FIG. 3, may be utilized to form the apertures 24 in the body blank 40, without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant invention.

The body blank 40 is then advanced along the runway 46 to a scoring station 56 wherein the score lines 26 are formed adjacent each side portion of the blank and extend from the apertures 24 to the adjacent side edge portion in substantially parallel relation to the adjacent longitudinal edge 58 of the blank (see FIG. 4). This is accomplished by positioning the blank 40 beneath a pair of vertically reciprocal scoring dies 62 which form the score lines 26 in the upper surface of the blank 40. These scoring dies 62 preferably extend into the perforations 3'4, and beyond the side edges of the blank 40 to insure the desired scoring pattern in the blank (see FIG. 6), the side guides of the runway 46 being suitably received at the scoring station to clear the scoring dies 62. Alternatively, the score lines 26 may be formed in the blank 40 by any other suitable or conventional apparatus.

Thereafter, the longitudinal slit 22 is formed in the blank 40- between and in registration with the apertures 24 therein and in substantially parallel relation to the longitudinal edge 58 thereof (see FIG. 7). As shown in FIG. 8, when the blank 40 is advanced along the runway 46 to a predetermined position at a slitting station 67 and is disposed over a generally rectangular recess 68 formed in the runway 46, the side edge portions of the blank are engaged by clamping members 69 and a vertically movable cutting tool 70 is moved downwardly into engagement with a portion 72 of the blank 40 between the apertures 24 therein and the longitudinal edge 58 to form the slit 22 in the blank by cutting and temporarily displacing the portion 72 of the blank 40 into the recess 68 in the runway 46. When the cutting tool 70 is thereafter moved upwardly out of engagement with the portion 72 of the blank 40, the depressed portion 72 thereof is returned to its original position in alignment with the adjacent portion of the blank 40 by a spring-biased vertically movable member 74 in engagement therewith to define the longitudinal or circumferential slit 22 therein. As seen in FIG. 8, the cutting tool 69 preferably overlaps the perforations 24 to insure that the slit 22 extends into the perforations. The forming of the slit 22 is facilitated by the fact that the perforations 24 permit the downward bending of the end portions of the depressed blank portion 72 without any danger of tearing of the metal of the blank at the ends of the slit 22. For this reason, it is highly desirable that the perforations 22 be formed in the blank 49 prior to the slitting operation.

It will be readily seen that, since both the score lines 26 and the slit 22 are formed in registration with the apertures 24 in the blank 40, which apertures are of substantially greater diameter than the height of the slit 22, there is no danger of the slit 22 and the score lines 26 being disposed out of operative registration with each other to an extent that the slit would not lead into the score lines 26 in the container body 12, with the resultant disadvantage of making the container body extremely hard to open fully along the score lines 26. Thus, even if the slit 22 and score line 26 are not formed in exact mutual alignment in the body blank 40, the apertures 24 formed in the blank 40 at the intended junctions of the slit 22 and score lines 26 serve to connect the two and insure that the slit leads into or is in operative registration with the score line 26 to facilitate easy opening of the container body 12.

It is noted that while the instant method is described above as comprising the steps of first punching the apertures 24 in the blank 40 and then scoring and slitting the blank, these operations may be performed in other sequences on the blank 40 without departing from the scope of the instant invention.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts and that changes may be made in the steps of the method described and their order of accomplishment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is: 1. A method of making a blank for a container body having a circumferential slit extending through the major portion thereof and a score line extending between the ends of the slit and across the side seam of the body, said method camprising the steps of:

forming a pair of apertures in predetermined alignment in said blank, said apparatus being disposed adjacent to opposite side edge portions of said blank,

cutting score lines in said blank extending from each of said apertures to the adjacent side edge of said blank,

supporting said blank only at its side edge portions,

and simultaneously forming a slit in said blank extending between and in registration with said apertures by passing a cutting tool in a direction perpendicular to and through the portion of said blank between said apertures.

said apertures being of a size which is greater than the height of said slit to insure that the ends of said slit will be in registration with said score line. 2. A method of makng a blank for a container body having a circumferential slit extending through the major portion thereof and a score line extending between the ends of the slit and across the side seam of the body, said method comprising the steps of:

forming a pair of apertures in predetermined alignment in said blank, said apertuers being disposed adjacent to the opposite side edge portions of said blank, supporting said blank only at its side edge portions,

while simultaneously forming a slit in said blank.

extending between and in registration with said apertures by passing a cutting tool in a direction perpendicular to and through the portion of said blank between said apertures, and

cutting score lines in said blank extending from each of said apertures to the adjacent side edge of said blank,

said apertures being of a size which is greater than the height of said slit to insure that the ends of said slit will be in registration with said score line.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,186,581 6/1965 Schneider et a1. 220-53 5 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

R. D. GREFE, Assistant Examiner. 

2. A METHOD OF MAKING A BLANK FOR A CONTAINER BODY HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL SLIT EXTENDING THROUGH THE MAJOR PORTION THEREOF AND A SCORE LINE EXTENDING BETWEEN THE ENDS OF THE SLIT AND ACROSS THE SLIDE SEAM OF THE BODY, SAID METHOD COMPRISING THE STEPS OF: FORMING A PAIR OF APERTURES IN THE PREDETERMINED ALIGNMENT IN SAID BLANK, SAID APERTURES BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID BLANK, SUPPORTING SAID BLANK ONLY AT ITS SIDE EDGE PORTIONS, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY FORMING A SLIT IN SAID BLANK EXTENDING BETWEEN AND IN REGISTRATION WITH SAID APERTURES BY PASSING A CUTTING TOOL IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO AND THROUGH THE PORTION OF SAID BLANK BETWEEN SAID APERTURES, AND CUTTING SCORE LINES IN SAID BLANK EXTENDING FROM EACH OF SAID APERTURES TO THE ADJACENT SIDE EDGE OF SAID BLANK, SAID APERTURES BEING OF A SIZE WHICH IS GREATER THAN THE HEIGHT OF SAID SLIT TO INSURE THAT THE ENDS OF SAID SLIT WILL BE IN REGISTRATION WITH SAID SCORE LINE. 